Poole Pirates 2021

[Steve Shovlar 10,439]

Disagree Skidder. Families will bring their kids along and away fans will travel down, possibly making a weekend of it.  Saturdays are much more accessible in the scheme of things. All other attractions are also open every day. 

Go to speedway on a Saturday then pop down the quay afterwards for a lemonade or two.

[Skidder1 7,636]

17 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Disagree Skidder. Families will bring their kids along and away fans will travel down, possibly making a weekend of it.  Saturdays are much more accessible in the scheme of things. All other attractions are also open every day. 

Go to speedway on a Saturday then pop down the quay afterwards for a lemonade or two.

Well its only my opinion having spent much of my working life in local events, hospitality and leisure industries. Even now retired, regular Friday/Saturday meetings would rule me out due to other obligations.

To get families to bring their kids along to anything on a regular basis in this day and age would be remarkable for any popular event/activity let alone speedway.

For holidaymakers it is well known that Fri/Sat is 'changeover day' for hotels/guest houses, campsites etc.  A midweek fixture is  traditionally much easier for holiday makers to plan into their week's stay!

Edited May 22, 2021 by Skidder1

[Arthur54 1,301]

I think Saturday night would be a brilliant idea, use to enjoy Saturday night speedway at places like Swindon, Coventry and Cradley 

[ray c 2,299]

With quite a few teams already race on a  saturday there could be quite few blanks in the home fixture list .plus the fact two posters have said stadia uk dont want us there anyway I'm sure stadia uk got idea's of there own especially at weekends .

[lewy 2,326]

On 4/14/2021 at 7:37 PM, scottyfan said:

With the “South African” variant coming back into play and undoubtedly the “Brazilian “ variant will rear its ugly head again too, I still can’t see there being any league speedway in the UK this season 

You got that one wrong Mr Brightside 

[Steve Shovlar 10,439]

2 hours ago, ray c said:

With quite a few teams already race on a  saturday there could be quite few blanks in the home fixture list .plus the fact two posters have said stadia uk dont want us there anyway I'm sure stadia uk got idea's of there own especially at weekends .

Stadia U.K. don’t want the stadium open full stop. It was only the intervention of the council and legal threats which forced their hand. The argument was, the stadium has been left to the people of Poole as a Sporting venue. So why are the company running the stadium only running it as a car park business with no intention whatsoever of re-opening the stadium to sports?

They have no interest in using the stadium. 500 car park spaces at £7 a time 5 days a week with extra at the weekend is good enough for them with just two staff. They don’t want to employ anyone. Don’t want to open the bar, the food outlets, so the last thing they want is to hold events. It would mean spending money and employing staff that they have sacked.

Saturdays are going begging and if we clash with a Saturday club, Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons are free.

Those days would certainly attract bigger crowds than mid week.

[ray c 2,299]

31 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Stadia U.K. don’t want the stadium open full stop. It was only the intervention of the council and legal threats which forced their hand. The argument was, the stadium has been left to the people of Poole as a Sporting venue. So why are the company running the stadium only running it as a car park business with no intention whatsoever of re-opening the stadium to sports?

They have no interest in using the stadium. 500 car park spaces at £7 a time 5 days a week with extra at the weekend is good enough for them with just two staff. They don’t want to employ anyone. Don’t want to open the bar, the food outlets, so the last thing they want is to hold events. It would mean spending money and employing staff that they have sacked.

Saturdays are going begging and if we clash with a Saturday club, Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons are free.

Those days would certainly attract bigger crowds than mid week.

If you say so 

[AFCB Wildcat 1,362]

It's good to get one meeting on but what's the long term solution here?

From what I've read in the Star over the past couple of weeks and in the local press it's a bit of a worry.

The only thing that makes sense to me is for Stadia UK to forfeit their lease if they don't intend to use it as a sporting venue. If Stadia UK are still operating the venue how does it work bringing in staff to replace ones that have been made redundant regardless of who's paying them?

Now that the dogs are gone could there now be room for Poole Town to return to the stadium and share with the Speedway? I realise that the track would need to be moved as there's not currently enough room. That would be the ideal solution to me, with the council as the landlord. 

It seems though that there are plans to develop the whole site though and it all sounds a bit like the Swindon situation to me and frankly I fear the worst.

 

[ch958 2,395]

6 minutes ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

It's good to get one meeting on but what's the long term solution here?

From what I've read in the Star over the past couple of weeks and in the local press it's a bit of a worry.

The only thing that makes sense to me is for Stadia UK to forfeit their lease if they don't intend to use it as a sporting venue. If Stadia UK are still operating the venue how does it work bringing in staff to replace ones that have been made redundant regardless of who's paying them?

Now that the dogs are gone could there now be room for Poole Town to return to the stadium and share with the Speedway? I realise that the track would need to be moved as there's not currently enough room. That would be the ideal solution to me, with the council as the landlord. 

It seems though that there are plans to develop the whole site though and it all sounds a bit like the Swindon situation to me and frankly I fear the worst.

 

how far away is Ringwood? Could that not be developed?

 

[AFCB Wildcat 1,362]

19 minutes ago, ch958 said:

how far away is Ringwood? Could that not be developed?

 

I'm assuming you mean the Ringwood Raceway at Matchams park?

I think this would be a non starter. I don't even know who operates it now but the area has been hemmed in by high end housing since the days it was used as a training track in the 70's. The Moto X track has been closed due to noise issues I believe so I don't think permission would be given for speedway. It's probably about 10 - 15 miles or so from Poole but in a different county.

Poole's biggest asset is its town centre location but unfortunately that makes the land more valuable for other purposes.

 

[00000 1,279]

Agree about Poole's location. Easy walk from railway station, hotels nearby as is the High Street and the Quay.

Couldn't be better from a visiting fan's perspective.

When I have been, I notice a lot of people walking to/from the stadium.

Not many walk to Arlington, for example!

[hrhbig 69]

2 hours ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

I'm assuming you mean the Ringwood Raceway at Matchams park?

I think this would be a non starter. I don't even know who operates it now but the area has been hemmed in by high end housing since the days it was used as a training track in the 70's. The Moto X track has been closed due to noise issues I believe so I don't think permission would be given for speedway. It's probably about 10 - 15 miles or so from Poole but in a different county.

Poole's biggest asset is its town centre location but unfortunately that makes the land more valuable for other purposes.

 

Ringwood and Matchams is in Dorset, but I don't think viable due to location.

[cityrebel 2,960]

2 hours ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

I'm assuming you mean the Ringwood Raceway at Matchams park?

I think this would be a non starter. I don't even know who operates it now but the area has been hemmed in by high end housing since the days it was used as a training track in the 70's. The Moto X track has been closed due to noise issues I believe so I don't think permission would be given for speedway. It's probably about 10 - 15 miles or so from Poole but in a different county.

Poole's biggest asset is its town centre location but unfortunately that makes the land more valuable for other purposes.

 

I remember going to the long track at Matchams in the late 1980's.

[AFCB Wildcat 1,362]

17 minutes ago, hrhbig said:

Ringwood and Matchams is in Dorset, but I don't think viable due to location.

Geography maybe, but different administration isn't it? I think it comes under East Dorset then & Poole is BCP.

It's all a bit confusing round that area. I've seen the address given as Ringwood Hampshire but it's not my neck of the woods so I'm sure. As you say though, not viable as a Speedway venue.

 

 

[AFCB Wildcat 1,362]

4 hours ago, Richard Weston said:

Agree about Poole's location. Easy walk from railway station, hotels nearby as is the High Street and the Quay.

Couldn't be better from a visiting fan's perspective.

When I have been, I notice a lot of people walking to/from the stadium.

Not many walk to Arlington, for example!

Yes, exactly that.

I know times have changed and I haven't been to Wimborne Road regularly for many years but when we were kids we could make our own way there easily and lots of kids and families from local estates walked there.

If it was out in the sticks somewhere and only accessible by car I think attendances would plummet.